Election campaign day one: Tim Farron says he supports legal abortion

20 April 2017

Despite previously saying that "abortion is wrong at any time", Mr Farron has pledged to defend the existing law.

Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday gained parliamentary approval to hold a snap general election, scheduled for 8 June. On the first full day of campaigning, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron seemed to contradict previous statements opposing abortion, saying that he "supports a woman's right" to have an abortion.

Wrong but legal?

When elected to the House of Commons Farron said: "Abortion is wrong. Society has to climb down from the position that says there is nothing morally objectionable about abortion before a certain time. If abortion is wrong, it is wrong at any time."

But when the party was asked for his views this week a spokesperson stated: "Tim supports a woman's right to an abortion. He will defend the existing law."

Betrayal of unborn babies

In a press release, SPUC's campaign director Antonia Tully accused Mr Farron of turning his back on the rights of unborn babies for political advantage. "This kind of opportunism demonstrates the worst face of politics," she said. "Mr Farron is betraying unborn babies for political expediency. He fails to think the law should protect the most vulnerable from lethally unjust treatment even though he appears to know (or have known) that they are indeed being treated in a very immoral way."

MPs need to be brave

Commenting on SPUC's campaigning plans for the surprise election, Mrs Tully said that "MPs should really show some backbone when they are pressed on crucial issues.Their views on life issues are important to many voters in this election, and SPUC activists will be quizzing candidates on their positions. MPs need to be brave – not railroaded by pressure from the media or liberal elites. I guarantee that SPUC will be running a vigorous and high-profile election campaign to make sure these issues are to the fore.”

50 years on, abortion crucial in this election

Mrs Tully called on voters to question their candidates on life issues, saying: “While of course there are many important considerations in this election, it is crucial that abortion, 50 years after it was legalised, is one of them. The last few years have seen horrific reports of malpractice in the abortion industry, only adding to the 50 years of evidence that abortion damages women, as well as having taken the lives of over 8 million babies. It is also imperative that we elect politicians who will commit to upholding Parliament’s decision in 2015 to protect the vulnerable by voting against euthanasia and assisted dying."

Tom

21 April 2017, 8:55pm

Perhaps Mr F will say something different to his spokeperson. Let's hope so. We definitely do need people who speak their mind and stand up for what's good. Politicians need to be braver than ever to do that at the moment.For those of us who are Christians, we have to be careful not to vote only on what are popularly the "Christian" issues. I did that in 2010, only to regret it. Christ is concerned about the whole lot- deeply interested not only in what the media might tie the church down to, but in the poor, the NHS, foreign policy, refugees, the environment, the attitude to money, the way we talk of each other and deal with each other. We have to consider the whole lot.We also need to consider that there are mps who are probably aetheists who conduct themselves in a more godly manner than some who claim to be Christian and to stand for Christian values. It's no good voting for someone who stands on an anti-abortion ticket, but is, for example, fundamentally dishonest or uncaring in general.But the last thing is- people and institutions can change, so pray for them, back them and encourage them in what is good; never support and stand with evil, even when it is temporarily on your side, and don't give up hope.